The Baker Family

Christmas Break

2011-12-17T09:47:00.000-08:00

We did it! We both successfully finished another semester, and it can't feel any better. It's weird not having any homework hanging over my head to start and get finished. I think I could get used to this...

As a Christmas gift from the UVU Nursing program, they FINALLY announced our preceptorships! (we've been waiting all semester to find out). Drum roll please...I will be doing my preceptorship at UVRMC Emergency Department!!!!!!! It's a coveted preceptorship, so I got so dang lucky! I am ecstatic!

Merry Christmas! Only one 12-hour shift and one 6-hour shift left before we head to Washington!

Black Friday

2011-11-25T16:29:00.001-08:00

I'm not a huge Black Friday shopper! Waking up at wee hours in the morning for some good deal is not fun for me (considering the fact I was out by 8:30 last night kinda helps my lack of love for Black Friday...) I do, however love sleeping in and going to the mall to see what kind of deals are going on for the day. To my surprise, Banana Republic had 40% off everything until 1PM. You see, I've been eyeing this beauty for a while now:

Yay for 40% off $225 and THANK YOU STEVE! You made me one happy girl today!

Drill Weekend

2011-11-21T10:20:00.003-08:00

Steve was gone all weekend doing his drill duty for the National Guard, so after taking my tests and working, I found this quote...

This is so true of Steve and I. As soon as I saw him walk into my math class a few years ago, I texted my sister saying that my future husband just walked past me. Thinking about it now...that sounds pretty creepy! This time of year is a special time for me though, because it is when we started dating and got engaged. Oh the days. So for viewing pleasure...a picture history of US!

He asked me out all the time, and I always said no (my bad), but one day I invited him shopping...don't ask me why I invited him shopping, but he was so excited to hang out with me, he came :)

After a great date on November 22, 2008 (yeah, I'm a nerd) I decided Steve was cool, so I was bold and invited him over for Thanksgiving!

Steve had so much fun hanging out with me on Thanksgiving, he asked me to be his girlfriend a few days after. This picture was taken the day before he said "I love you" for the first time.

We knew we wanted to get married, but couldn't decide on a wedding date, so we made a bet. If the dolphins won, he got to choose. He won, hence March 20th.

We got engaged on Christmas!

Engagement picture

Wedding!

We went on a Vegas honeymoon

And here we are almost three years later. It sure is fun to look back on the "old days"!

Comparing = BAD!

2011-11-06T10:52:00.001-08:00

I know I talk about nursing school ALL the time, but I can't help it, it's all I do ALL the time. Work at the hospital, go to school and learn about nursing stuff, go back to the hospital for clinicals...that's my life right now.

However, ever since I started the program, I have had a huge issue with comparing myself. It is such a huge problem for me, that my self esteem has shot down the toilet and the only way I feel "good" about myself is if I do good on a test. Lately, this has been on my mind a lot. I am tired of feeling horrible about myself! I am trying to not compare myself with everyone in my class (everyone is SUPER competitive--like ridiculous extreme!) and it has been so hard. I want to be proud of myself and not feel bad when I don't get the score I want on a test or an assignment. It is sad to see how much I have given in into the negative thoughts and let my self worth be hurt. Anyhow, I was looking on pinterest today, and saw this...

I better print this out and plaster it to my face, because this is exactly what I need to constantly remind myself!

Studying!

2011-10-28T14:36:00.001-07:00

I officially quit studying for the day. Is it bad that I feel guilty not studying every single minute of the day? Oh well I guess, this brain of mine can only handle so much.

Prayers are appreciated! I've never been so nervous for a test before!

Thank goodness graduation is April 26. Please come FAST!!!

It's hard to say goodbye

2011-10-12T15:10:00.000-07:00

Today was a bitter sweet day. I attended the funeral of a lady who meant the world to my family and I. She was the type of person who did anything and everything for her friends and family and never thought twice about herself. She spoke at my baptism, attended my high school graduation, and came to my wedding. She was there for me at every big mile stone of my life and so much more.

My parents met her when they lived in Vancouver, WA. When my dad joined the church, she was in their ward. They became very good friends, and after her husband passed away in 1993, she moved to Orem, UT. I have many fond memories of going on family vacations to Utah to visit her. We would stay at her house and she made sure we had fun. I remember being excited to hang out with her grand kids. When I was about to turn eight, my family moved to Utah. We always thought of Utah as fun place to live, thanks to her!

Every Christmas she showered us with gifts. Every fourth of July she had "extra" tickets for us to go to the stadium of fire. She invited us over for Sunday dinners and even invited us to her annual family Christmas Eve talent show. We looked forward to her infamous Christmas card every year that provided a detailed report on every single thing each one of her grand kids did throughout the year. She was the epitome of "grandma".

A few months ago she was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. My parents found out a few weeks ago and my parents and all my siblings went to see her. I never got to say goodbye. School or work always got in the way, and I regret it.

At her funeral today, listening to her family talk about what an amazing woman she was and what an amazing life she lived, it hit me hard how much she did for me. I realized that I need to stop taking things for granted and take more time being around those I love. I feel so bad that I was not there for her in a time that she needed it, even though she was always there for me. I'm so grateful that she gets to be with her husband again! It was such a happy funeral, but we are going to miss her immensely!

I love you Sister Minor! Thank you for all you did for me and my family! I will never forget you!

Quote

2011-09-18T13:56:00.000-07:00

Just a little reminder:

"Life is to be enjoyed, not endured" -Gordon B. Hinckley

I definitely needed to hear that today!

Life

2011-09-09T15:57:00.001-07:00

Well my friends, school has started and I am definitely feeling the stress that school brings. I've studied all day, so I decided I deserved some well earned "me" time. Hence, I am blogging.

This past Tuesday, I started my labor and delivery rotation. I only get two days on the unit, so I was hoping for some excitement on my first day there. Luckily for me, I was able to watch my patient from start to finish! I watched her get induced and have the baby. All I can say is that I have a whole new respect for mothers. WOW! It was such a great experience! My patient made the whole thing look so easy. She pushed twice and there was baby. The lesson I am taking away from the whole experience: get an epidural when I have children. Goodness gracious, how women do it natural, I have no clue!

To jump to another topic, my dad had back surgery on Monday. He has a form of arthritis called Ankylosing Spondylitis that affects the spine. Everything went really well and he is healing so good! He had to spend three days in the hospital, but now he is home. I am so grateful for my family!!

Lastly, while we were in Washington, we got family pictures taken. With the possibility of Steve deploying to Afghanistan in June, we thought we better get some done while we were together. If only Steve's sister and her family, and his brother could have been there, too! Enjoy!

Steve LOVES Rocky! If you come to my house, Rocky's picture is everywhere! Silly Steve :)

I should blog more...

2011-08-10T19:35:00.000-07:00

After a lot of packing and lots of cleaning, Steve and I are finally in our new apartment! A quick shout out to Ched & Yolette for letting us crash in the basement and for letting us borrow your steam cleaner and a shout out to my family for finding all our boxes, letting us borrow your dyson, and for helping us move. We definitely couldn't have done it without you guys!

It is so nice to have two bedrooms! I now have a scrapbooking room, yay me! What is even cooler about this new place is that my bestest nursing buddy, Kiarra, lives right above us with her husband! Everyone in the neighborhood is so super nice and I couldn't be happier. I finally feel like we are at home! Oh, and did I mention? We have a little garage! Say bye-bye to mean people scratching, denting, and hitting our cars because they can't parallel park. This place gets better and better!

Just a little update on us: we are as boring as ever (I say that in the most lovingly way possible). Steve and I are both just working and trying not to think about the number of days until school starts. Steve's parents are in town, so we have had a great time hanging out with them, and we get to drive with them back to WA to visit for a few days. The summer has definitely gone by so fast and I am most definitely not ready to kiss my relaxation time goodbye in exchange for a ton of homework. On a more positive note though, only 8 more months until I qualify to take the NCLEX-RN!

Well, the buzzer just went off on MY VERY OWN dryer! Laundry is calling my name :) Love you all!

Success!

2011-07-06T12:19:00.001-07:00

Well my friends, I did it! I can successfully say I took statistics and pathophysiology in SEVEN weeks and aced both! Goodness gracious that was a lot more work than I bargained for, but I am so happy it is over and I can cross those two classes off my list!

To change the subject, we had such a great time in Washington! It is always great to see Steve's parents!!!

Steve & Rocky

Mom & Dad Baker

Two awesome goobers! Go Mariners!

Oh and P.S. I GOT THE JOB!!!!!!!!

Cross Your Fingers!

2011-06-28T11:09:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to have landed a job interview for the medical/oncology floor at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center. I just got back from the interview, and it went so great! The problem is...so were all the other applicants! Everyone was so wonderful! I REALLY want this job! Prayers would be appreciated ;)

I'll find out next week whether I got the job. Either way, job or not, will be an adventure. I just hope this adventure includes working at the hospital. I will be a nurse next summer, and I really need to get my foot in the door. IHC tends to hire nurses who are already employed within their corporation. Please, please, please work out!

Anyhow, we leave for Washington in two days! I can't wait to visit my in laws!

Yay Steve!

2011-06-26T19:45:00.000-07:00

Guess who is awesome?!?!

My husband, of course!

Not only does he work hard and never complain,

but he got a promotion in the National Guard!

Bye-bye E3, hello E4.

You may call Steve "specialist" (Yolette, I have no clue what that means, haha)

Good job Steve!!!

On a side note: Monday (June 20th) was my 22nd birthday. Thanks to everyone for making it such a great day even though I had to sit through eight hours of pure lecture (we can say pure torture as well)!

Blessings!

2011-05-01T12:51:00.000-07:00

It has been a very interesting and busy week. You gotta love finals week: cram for one test, take the test, start cramming for another test, take that test, and the cycle goes on and on. Luckily, we pulled through and did really good on our finals.

Funny story, my psych nursing professor made us take the final in the testing center. His tests are notorious for being pretty hard. I have done pretty well (averaging 90%), but my grade was dependent on my final. He told us the final would be comprehensive and that hardly any test questions from previous tests would be on the final. That meant I actually had to study! I pretty much re read the text book and finally said "bag it" and went and took the final. I was so nervous since my classmates said that they thought it was really hard and they didn't do too well on it (I am talking about nursing majors here...our bad is 85%). I was assigned a seat in the testing center and quickly said a really long prayer (I needed all the help I could get). As I started taking the test I realized that I knew a lot of the answers. Out of 70 questions, there were 5 that I felt unsure about. So needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised! At the UVU testing center, right next to the exit door is a big screen TV with the test scores. Each student is assigned a number, and to find your score, you look for your assigned number. Well, they gave me my number and then asked if I would take a survey. I said "sure" and took the survey. I turned in my survey and realized I couldn't remember my assigned number. The students who work in the testing center are scar

y, so there was no way I was going to ask them to give me my number again. Being the cool person I am, I made up what I thought the number I was assigned was, and went to find it on the screen. Surprisingly, my made up number was on the board! 68%!!!! My heart dropped! That is 22 questions I missed. I felt so confident though. I kept thinking "How could I miss 22 when there were only 5 I wasn't sure about". I called my mom kind of in shock that I did so bad. She reassured me that all would be well. I still felt that I didn't do THAT bad, so I checked my email (the testing center emails you your score right away). I just wanted to confirm that I actually got a 68%. NOPE!!!! I actually scored a 97%! I got the high out of both classes! Prayers work, I'm telling you (just ask everyone in my physiology and anatomy classes...) I just felt so blessed! There is no way on my own that I scored that high. That was definitely divine intervention :)

On another note, I have been spending a lot of time at the hospital. Monday afternoon, right after I took my first final, my mom called saying that she was taking my older brother, Eli, to the ER. He was at work and fell over in pain. My mom took him to the family doctor, and the doctor told them to go straight to the ER because he thought he had a ruptured appendix. Steve and I met them in the ER, and Eli was loving the attention! Eli went in for a CT scan, just to confirm it was an appendicitis, and nope, he had a perforated duodenal ulcer (a medical emergency!). We didn't even know he had an ulcer to begin with! The surgeon came right in telling my parents that Eli needed to go to surgery ASAP because he could die. The surgeon also said that if he waited one more day, he would have died! My poor parents, that was really scary for them to hear! And for me! I am so grateful my mom listened to the prompting to take him to the doctor.

His surgery went really well, but the surgeon said he was full of infection and was worried about him becoming septic. Septic=bad news! That means the infection has gotten into the blood stream and most people die! He was admitted to the ICU and stayed there for three days. My poor brother had a catheter, epidural, and NG tube. I am so used to seeing people in this condition all the time, but when it is family, it is hard to see!

Things are looking good for my brother, though! He no longer has his NG tube in and was moved to med/surg! He can FINALLY keep food down and is acting like his stubborn self! Thank you to everyone who has supported my family through this! Your prayers, phone calls, and visits have meant the world to us! This whole experience has helped me realize that no matter how much nursing school is a pain in the bum and chaotic, I CANNOT WAIT to be a nurse! (This time next year!!!) Helping people feel better and seeing a smile on patients and their families faces is definitely worth the work I am going through now!

So needless to say, it has been a busy week :) Hopefully this week will be full of relaxation before I kick school into full gear again on the 9th (Yay

me...)

I swear everything isn't about me on this blog! Even though Steve never reads it, he did so good on his finals! I am really proud of him! He works all the time and manages to do really well in his classes. I am definitely one lucky girl to be married to him :)

A WHOLE year!

2011-04-14T19:31:00.000-07:00

It's about time I blog! School is FINALLY settling down (for the week, at least), so I thought I would blog before finals quickly creep up! Only two semesters before I take the NCLEX and four semesters until I have my full blown BSN...just sayin'!

Anyway, yesterday was the one year anniversary of Steve coming home from his military training! And we celebrated like non other...school and work :) Wouldn't have it any other way...kidding! I would say we will celebrate this weekend, but Steve has drill...maybe next week...We have been married for 2 years and FINALLY got to spend a whole year together! I keep reminiscing about the past year and how busy of a year it has been.

To name a few:

I got accepted and (have almost) completed a complete year of nursing school
We both got in car wrecks (bad, bad, bad)
We celebrated our first Halloween together (well, not really. Steve worked all day, and I worked all night)
However, we did celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas with wonderful family and friends!
Steve is SO close to choosing a major, at least the closet he has ever been before.
Steve gets to go to the Dominican Republic May 13th for his Annual Training

It has been a very good year, but definitely a year I do not want to repeat. Haha! Now if only I had a picture to complete this post...

Goodness gracious!

2011-03-24T19:44:00.001-07:00

Anyone ever used the program "turnitin" to submit papers? Well, one of my nursing professors makes us write an APA style paper every week on a certain medical diagnosis and turn it in via turnitin. The program is "suppose" to let the teacher know if anyone has plagiarized. If the similarity is 25% or more, you automatically fail the paper. Well, many hours later and after thinking I had written a great paper, the stupid website said that 42% of my paper was plagiarized. AUTOMATIC ZERO!!!!!!! This lady is not-so-nice, she already gave me a 70 for who knows what reason (she gives NO feedback). Needless to say, I'm so frustrated. My teacher makes us text her rather than email, so I texted her, and she called me a CHEATER! How am I cheating if everything I wrote has a citation with it??? Oh my goodness woman!

Sorry, I just needed to vent. I kissed my A goodbye today. BOO!!!!!!!!!

Two Years Ago Today...

2011-03-20T21:56:00.000-07:00

...I became Mrs. Estella Baker!

What a joy it has been to be married to my best friend! I love you, Steve, and I can't wait to spend the rest of eternity with you!

HAPPY 2 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!!!

Clinicals

2011-02-08T21:05:00.000-08:00

Tuesday's are always one LONG day (0545-1800), but hit or miss, they tend to be AWESOME! This past week I was lucky enough to go back and do another clinical in the American Fork Hospital ER. Oh my goodness, SO.MUCH.FUN! The nurse I was assigned to was amazing, and let me do so much stuff. I am actually slowly starting to feel like I am learning to become a nurse. It is so great! I got the chance to start an IV, push meds through an IV, take out stitches, give a few IM shots right in the bum, and numb a kids nasty snowboarding accident wound and irrigate it so the doctor could stitch him up (he fell on a snowboard and it cut his whole knee open!) Surprisingly, I wasn't grossed out at all. I totally want to be an ER nurse!

Nursing school ROCKS (well, most of the time...)

Gotta love the fashionable UVU scrub outfit! Haha, I am SO proud to wear my scrubs!

Lucky!

2011-01-05T20:04:00.000-08:00

A really good friend of mine is an AMAZING photographer (she actually got Steve to smile. Number one photographer in my book!) I just have to take a second to brag about her. I was feeling really down one random day about my wedding photos. They look great for not being edited, but I wanted that extra "umph" you could say. So, Tamera to the rescue introduced me to Photoshop! I have one word for that program, CONFUSING! I admire the people who can use that. It is a totally different language to me, and I definitely didn't get the gift of tongues! Look at how cute she made one of my wedding photos!

Thanks Tamera for being such a GREAT friend! I love you!

On another note, I need to take a second to vent. Sorry if this sounds really rude, I just need to let it out! Can I just say how tired I am of mean people? For the people who live above me, PLEASE STOP scratching my car! Today they scraped their mirror along our car. I wanted to cry (oh wait, I did). It is just so frustrating. Steve & I work so hard for what we have, and those mean people are treating it like trash. I just don't like inconsiderate people--makes for a grumpy Estella, and we don't want that.

I just want to end by saying how grateful I am to have you all in my life!

My parents are such wonderful people who I love so much! Thank you mom and dad for everything you have done for Steve and I. You have made a lot of my bad days so much better!

I got so lucky to marry into a wonderful family--the Baker family. Steve's family is so great!

Ched & Yolette are such great people whom I LOVE visiting and their home is a home away from home for me (I said home way too much). I love your whole family, and one day hope to cook like you, Yolette. You guys rock!

Steve is such a great example to me and always helps me see the positive side of things. He works so hard and I never hear him complain about all that he has to do. What a guy, he joined the National Guard so we could have health insurance and both attend school. That is a huge sacrifice! I love you Steve!

Tamera is the only person I've stayed in contact with since High School and is such a great inspiration to me. She is a best friend to me! She is always there to hear me moan and groan, and has fabulous scrapbooking skills on top of her photographer skills!

Gillian is amazing at hair and always makes me feel like a hundred bucks when I walk out of her salon! Thank you!

Kirsty! When Steve was gone doing his medic training, it was so nice to have someone to talk to. Plus, her husband and Steve were inseparable. It is funny how a military family works. You may never meet someone, but you feel so connected. We love you Baldon Family! And I sure hope we get to meet!

Jessica Johns has taught me the value and importance of Visiting Teaching. I have to admit, before I moved into the ward I am in now, I had only been visiting teaching once. Jessica is such a great person who lets her light shine to everyone. We're lucky we moved next door!

Michelle made working all night so much fun. She taught me how good edamame is, we practiced making yo-yo's on a torn up hospital pillow case (shhh, don't tell), watched Footloose laughing throughout the whole thing, sneaking Steve into a hospital gown and telling me we were getting a new admit to surprise me when he FINALLY came home. Oh Michelle, we've had MANY good times!

Sorry I couldn't write something about everyone, I must go make dinner for when Steve gets off work (so late!) I just wanted to thank everyone again for being in my life! I am so blessed!

Happy Holiday's Everyone!

2010-12-29T15:11:00.000-08:00

It is about time I write something on this blog. I'll admit, I am horrible at writing. I don't know how many blog posts I've started and saved, just to start another one over and never post it.

Anyhow...freedom from school has been absolutely wonderful! I just don't want school to start up again. Last semester was definitely not the best (Steve and I had many "trials", let's just say...), so I sure hope things can only get better! On a better note, I ACED my first semester of nursing school! I have never been so proud. Steve did so good, too! He rocked his classes with A's. What a goober, he works so hard, and succeeds at everything. I am VERY proud of him!

We had a great Thanksgiving and Christmas. We spent Thanksgiving with my family, and Steve's family came out from Washington and Nashville to come hang out with us for Christmas. It was great to be surrounded by family and friends--we sure are lucky!

My awesome mom & dad making Thanksgiving dinner.

My dad and silly brothers!

My sister, Chantra & brother, Nephi

We sure love Abbey!

I was too big of a pansy to try out skiing or snowboarding, so we walked around instead...

Steve's parents with grandbaby Luke! He turned one on Christmas Eve. So cute!

Oh Steve...what a goober!

We hope everyone had a great Christmas! Now let the new year roll...!

It's Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T09:05:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving! I am SOOOOOOOOOO excited for today! Not for the food, but to hang out with my awesome family! It's funny how the spirit of the holiday's change as you get older. I'll admit, I was never a fan of Thanksgiving (I sound horrible!) But now that I am somewhat grown and married, any excuse to hang out with my family is a great one! Plus, Steve got the day off! We never get to spend any time together. Sorry there aren't any pictures. I will take TONS today!

I am SO grateful for FAMILY! I love you all!

I love napping!

2010-11-04T15:09:00.001-07:00

Can I start by saying how much I LOVE taking naps? Yep, I sure do love them!

Unfortunately nursing school and work forbid them...darn! On a side note, my mom, Steve, and I made the cutest fall wreath (and yes, it did need to take three people due to my lack of creativity). Thanks mom and Steve!

I just love this time of year!

My Love Story!

2010-10-26T19:02:00.000-07:00

WARNING: LONG POST!

For some odd reason, I've been in a sappy love mood where I LOVE to hear how people met their husbands. It's just so fun to see how things work out in the most random ways...so here is mine and Steve's "love" story!

Side note: I had always known that I wanted to make nursing my career. Being the first person in my family to attend college, I really had no idea what I was doing, so my trusty mom made me talk with the academic advisor over at UVU. Math 1050 is a pre requisite for nursing, but in order to take that class, I had to take Math 1010. "Great" was all I could think. Needless to say, I totally bombed my ACT and had to take the lame Compass Test to place me in the appropriate college level math class. I failed and was placed in a totally basic math class. I was so frustrated. Math came really easy to me, but if I am not continually doing it, I quickly forget. I hadn't taken a math class since my Junior year of high school, and I was just about to begin my second year of college. I convinced myself that the few year gap was the reason why I was being placed in the dumbed down math class. SO....I met with the academic advisor, and out of the goodness of his heart, he let me skip the 950 course I was SUPPOSED to be in, and gave me permission to register for 980! Yeah, such a big difference :) I was grumpy, but it wasn't going to get any better, so I registered and waited for the first day of school...

Nothing spectacular happened the first week of school, or even the second, BUT one day, I saw Steve walk into my math class. He was wearing his blue/green flip flops, khaki shorts, with a white t-shirt. I remember texting my sister saying that I had just laid eyes on my future husband! Darn Chantra, she didn't save the text! I thought Steve was way cute! I had my usual seat which was close to the door, and of course he sat all the way across the room right next to the wall. However, he eventually relocated to the row right next to mine! Everyday, I tried to brave up and come up with clever ways to talk to him. The problem being, the darn boy hardly showed up! Each morning I would get ready hoping that today would be the day he would come to class. Sometimes it worked. THEN one day, he walked the same way that I did (he normally walked the other way). This was great news! I remember thinking "It's now or never", just then, he opened the door for me! PERFECT OPPORTUNITY! I said thank you and sparked up a conversation. Good thing Steve is not a judgemental person, because any other guy would have walked away calling me a weirdo. It must have been my anxious nerves, but the REAL Estella came out. I was such a nerd and told him pretty much my whole life story. I have no idea why, except it was meant to be...it would of have to have been that...thinking back, I am so embarrassed for myself! Don't worry, Steve still brings it up and laughs about it. Well, I was bummed that we had to depart, so I made sure he would show up to class the next day. He said he would, and that was that. I was totally smitten. I remember going to work that afternoon and telling everyone about it, problem being, I could not remember his name. He was then nicknamed "math boy" to my friends and family.

Steve did not show up the next day, nor the day after that.

I was so bummed! Gees, every time the door opened, my heart sped up hoping he would walk in. I'll admit, I was very disappointed when he didn't.

Of course it works out this way, I have no idea how I even attracted this boy, because guess when I saw him again? Of course, right as I had just finished an intense workout in my Aerobics class. There was just no chance for me to impress him: first the excessive talking, then the lack of looking somewhat decent. Oh well. Looking back on it now, it's pretty funny! I was walking to the locker room to change, and Steve was walking the opposite way to his ROTC class. He was wearing his ACUs and looked SO cute. We both stopped at the same time to talk, and he subtly hinted that we should study together sometime. Silly boy, he NEVER asked for my phone number. I wanted him to ask me for my phone number, so I decided to invite him to my institute class the next day. HE AGREED!

That next day, I got up extra early to look my best. All I could think about was how excited I was for him to come to institute with me. My institute class that semester was Dating and Courtship, and it was right after my math class. So...we walked to the institute building together and guess what Steve says? "Well have fun in class, I told my mission companion that I would meet him here." "WHAT???!" My heart dropped. I felt so rejected, but the odd thing being, normally I would have left it at that, but with Steve, I didn't. I grabbed him by the arm and made him come with me. I have no idea what possessed me, woops, sorry Steve's mission companion for making Steve ditch you. As we got to class, I quickly learned what the lesson was on. AWKWARD, you can probably guess. Yeah, maybe he should have stayed with his old mission companion. I will not lie, class was so awkward. From that moment, I thought he had absolutely NO interest in me. I decided it wasn't worth getting all worked up over, so I convinced myself that I did not like him and managed to date a lot of other people. However, I DID give him my phone number. That didn't help me much...

As I decided that there was no way Steve would ever notice me, I started getting asked out (I was normally the one home hanging out with my family on weekends. Haha!) It was fun to meet new people, however, not to be rude, they were all very interesting, needless to say. That is when Steve started texting me. He was sly and asked me about math homework, and then he progressed to invite me to go to a haunted house. I thought that sounded fun, so I told him I would go. HOWEVER, I did not think it was a date since he said that his roommates were coming and when I asked him straight out if it was a date, he said, "Wait, what?". I asked Steve about that question after we were engaged, he said he was confused. What a goober! Back to the story, my friend really wanted to come, so I said sure! I was convinced that Steve did not intend it to be a date, so when he told me that he would come pick me up, I was so confused/thought that was so nice.

He came and picked me up, bringing his crazy friend Abinidi. No, it is not pronounced how it is spelt, he changed it to be pronounced (A-bin-a-dee). Needless to say, it was one crazy night! We went to Nightmare on 13th in Salt Lake and to Sonic afterwards. I had a great time, but for some odd reason, I was not about to like Steve again. I thought that was that, and didn't think much about it. From that day forward, Steve was always there! He came to math, walked me to my next class, always invited me to lunch and hang out. I was so rude! Thinking back, I was just plain rude. Normally I felt bad to tell people no, but with Steve, I had no problem. I know that I sound like such a jerk! However, the only people I said "no" to were people I didn't feel comfortable with. The thing with Steve, I felt SO comfortable around him, I was just being rude. He was so great to me (and still is!) When I was having bad days, he would always listen to me and was just always there when I needed someone. I remember in my 7 Habits for Highly Effective People, that I even wrote a paper on him! (The assignment was on values of a good friend).

Steve was famous for giving me things over by the steps that lead up to the institute building. I don't know how many of you know UVU campus, but there is a hill, and that is where the institute building is placed. I used to joke that that was where he was going to give me ring (totally ironic!) One time Steve gave me my most favorite candy, milk duds, and another time he gave me a bouquet of flowers and invited me to the Cold Play concert. I felt so flattered, I had never received flowers from a BOY, I had only received flowers from my parents after a performance of a school play that I was in. He really made my day, especially inviting me to a concert! I remember him saying "So...uh...have you ever heard of Cold Play?" Sad thing, I had never heard of them. Woops, that dropped a bomb on things. He was like "Well, I was at subway the other day, and somebody just handed these to me." Haha, nice excuse Steve. Later he told me that he tried so hard to get those tickets, and had to pay a lot of money for them. Anyhow, I need to inform you all that the date of the concert was November 22, 2008, and he was inviting me in the middle of October!

Time went on, and November 22nd finally arrived. I was scheduled to work at the hospital that night, and the girl who said she would work for me bailed the night before. I felt really bad to bail on Steve especially since I could tell he had put a lot into inviting me, so I had my first encounter with a sick call. Really scary, but they bought it! Nighttime quickly came, and Steve picked me up. He looked really cute, but I just considered him a really good friend. We walked out to his car, and in my seat, he had a bouquet of flowers with my favorite color, yellow! That's when things started turning around for me. As we started to drive off, he then informed me that he left his camera at his aunt's house in Spanish Fork and needed to pick it up (I'm from Springville, and still lived at my parents house. Yay me!) So we drove to his "Aunt's" house, and HIS PARENTS were there! They happened to be in town for the weekend from Washington State. Good one Steve! That was very sly! His "Aunt" turned out to be his cousin. Haha, I have no idea why he kept calling her his aunt. I just remember thinking that they were all so wonderful. His cousins were so funny. They have 6 kids and totally made me feel like I was back at home (I'm the 2nd of 7). His mom was so friendly, but his dad kinda made me nervous. I didn't think he liked me very much. Don't worry, he is so great! After meeting Steve's parents, we were on our way to the concert. I had the best time of my life with him at the concert. BEST DATE EVER! We joked and just had the best time ever! I felt so comfortable with him that I made fun of his driving and told him to pull over so I could show him the right way. If you knew me back then, you would know that I would have never done that. I was so shy! He dropped me off at home, and I was so sad to say goodbye. My family was asleep, and I remember walking into my sisters room waking her up and saying "We have a problem, I really like Steve!" Steve and I saw each other every single day after the Cold Play concert, and were engaged just a short month later, on Christmas!

Now that we have been married 19 months, I look back and think about all our fun memories together. I feel so bad that I was a "meanie head" to him for so long, but I am grateful that he stayed persistent! We have been through a lot together, but I wouldn't change anything! I LOVE YOU STEVE!

Here is a fuzzy picture of us right after the Cold Play concert. Aren't we so cute? Man, we look young :)

Happiness.

2010-09-20T19:40:00.000-07:00

In FIVE days, I will have officially completed ONE WHOLE MONTH of nursing school! Countless months to go, but I am one down. It has been the most stressful and exhausting month in my life, but I am truly so lucky. Nursing school rocks! I've made some wonderful friends, and I am on the path to doubling my salary--couldn't get better than that!

On a side note, today is mine and Steve's one and a half year anniversary! Yay us! I can't believe how fast time has flown by. This time last year, Steve was gone away at basic training. It's amazing to see how much has changed in just one year!

I feel like I have so much to write about, but they are such random topics, that I don't know how to make everything flow together. So sorry about the crazy randomness. For some od

d reason, when it comes to blogging, my mind goes blank and I have the hardest time wording things JUST right!

My little brother, Lehi turned 8! He is such a cute little goober! I made some cupcakes for his birthday, and I must say, I did pretty good. It was so fun hanging out with my awesome family and relaxing. Here's a picture of Lehi with his birthday cupcake. I can't believe the youngest is about to be baptized. Man, I am getting old!

This past weekend, Steve had his drill in Salt Lake. He had to attend Gov. Day and watch for people who lock their knees and "fall out" of line. Steve sure makes a great medic. He just needs to choose a major in school now...PA?...hint, hint...since we thought he would be gone all day, we decided to stay a few nights up in Salt Lake.

It was a very much so needed break. I laid in bed all day, and it was glorious! We even rode TRAX for the first time. I must say, there are a bunch of weird people in Salt Lake. We almost got ran over by a whole pack of 10-year-olds on skate boards. Definitely a great spot to people watch if you're ever REALLY bored! Please excuse Steve's face, he NEVER smiles for pictures we take. He was pretty good at smiling for his platoon pictures when he wasn't supposed to. That's my cute husband for you!

Sweet Vacation

2010-08-10T20:39:00.003-07:00

It's about time I blog. Vegas was so much fun, but that place gets so dang hot. I could never live there, I would have to spend the whole day showering! Needless to say, it was the perfect get-a-way! We are kinda boring and didn't see any shows. My philosophy is who needs to see shows when there are so many interesting people there...right???! We did go and see the Titanic exhibit and Bodies. If you have never seen the Titanic exhibit, I highly recommend it. It is so well done and there is an actual piece of the titanic in there. It's pretty amazing! Bodies was fun, too. I went and saw it when it was in Utah, but back then I thought it was so boring since I had not taken Anatomy. Now that I am seasoned and passed the class, I figured I mise well go back and enjoy it. Steve impressed me with his amazing memory (yet again) and we had fun impressing each other with random facts. We're nerds, I know :)

Don't worry, we didn't spend ALL our money gambling...:)

I finally have something to blog about. Yay!

2010-07-28T18:11:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow morning, Steve and I will say good bye Utah, and hello Las Vegas! We decided that after a summer of work and work, that we needed a little time away. We are totally splurging, and staying at the Signature Hotel! For anyone who hasn't stayed here, it is the place to stay! It is connected to the MGM Grand, but you feel special, because only people staying in the hotel can get in. Totally exclusive with no gambling OR smoking! We stayed in this hotel on our honeymoon, and totally loved it. So why not keep staying, right?? This is a picture of what the room looks like. GORGEOUS!

Needless to say, we are so excited to leave. It'll be great to have a few days away! I'll post pictures when we get back! Adios amigos!

Gotta love work!

2010-07-22T02:10:00.000-07:00

As I sit here at work and it is exactly 3:11 in the morning, I would like to express my feelings of gratitude for working in such a great place! As much as I moan and groan about having to go to work, I am realizing just how much I really do have it good. Lately our little Pediatrics unit over at American Fork Hospital has been closed. Stinky for everyone, but luckily I don't get called off and still earn some moolah! I hate, hate, hate being pulled WITH A PASSION, but since every shift for the past few weeks has resulted in me working on the med/surg floor, I have a real love for the floor I work on. I work with amazing people and have made awesome friends, staffing is wonderful, and I just all around am darn lucky to be where I am.

So...no matter how tired and cranky I get, 12 hours shifts rock and so does Peds!

Cupcakes!

2010-07-19T22:18:00.000-07:00

Lately, my new found passion has been sitting around doing absolutely nothing and watching TLC or the Food Network channel (okay, okay, I'm always sitting around...) I find myself admiring the cake decorating shows. WOW! People are so talented. That's when I got thinking...maybe I could decorate cool cupcakes...

Tonight I finally tried. I'm not a fan of eating them (note to self, never make 48 cupcakes when you have no occasion to make them). I have not ventured far, because I totally cheated and used boxed cake mix. In my defense, I think it taste so much better than homemade. Totally weird, I know! First off, I made a cream cheese frosting. NASTY! Poor Steve pretended he liked it. What a nice husband he is! I got sick of baking so I took a little nap. When I woke up, I was ready to try once again. This time, we made a butter cream frosting. SO MUCH BETTER! Steve piped it on in a cool way. I love when the frosting is just in a swirl. Totally simple, but cute. I didn't get any pictures, so when I finally convince myself to try it out again, I will post some!

I figure, I am a Baker, I mise well live up to my name. I love making chocolate chip cookies, and maybe I will just stick to that. Until next time, good night!

Guess What...?

2010-06-30T21:06:00.000-07:00

I WAS ACCEPTED INTO NURSING SCHOOL! I couldn't be happier! I am so proud, excited, happy, nervous, pretty much every adjective I can think of. It's amazing to see how Heavenly Father has really helped me out. I passed my hardest classes with flying colors, I managed to get an interview with what I thought was a really low TEAS test score, and I got accepted after what I thought was the worst interview in my entire life. I AM SO BLESSED!

WAHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The anticipation totally killed me! I just HAD to know, and poor Steve had to live with a bear! I was getting so antsy. The letters were mailed June 25th, but since we had our mail forwarded, mine came on Monday. My in-laws were with me, and it was so fun!

Funny side note, I was talking with a girl in my ward just a while ago, and she said that her husband and her were watching out the window because they were wondering why someone was jumping all over the place at the mail box. How funny! I am just ecstatic to be a UVU NURSING STUDENT!

Another year older and wiser, too...kinda...

2010-06-25T14:34:00.000-07:00

Not only was it my 21st birthday on Sunday, but it was father's day! That's right, my dad and I got to share a day of opening presents together. I love my dad very much! He is a really great guy who would do anything for anyone. He is always so willing to help out whenever needed and never complains. He changes my oil, washes my car, makes smoothies and awesome salsa. He is one talented man, who makes me very proud! I am so blessed to have him as my dad! "I won, I won..." (name that movie dad!)

I definitely inherited his height! Love you dad!

Personally, I love it when blogs have tons of pictures. So, before I post pictures from my birthday, I just want to tell my mom that I owe her a post since I missed mother's day. Mom, it is coming, beware! I love you mom!

Now to my birthday. It was such a great day! Steve came home from his annual training, so that was really nice! We have church REALLY early in the morning, 8 o'clock! Needless to say, I slept pretty much the whole day.

Steve was so sweet and made me dinner and gave me some pretty awesome gifts! I am obsessed with scrapbooking supplies, so I got a $50 gift certificate to buy supplies from Close To My Heart, and then I got another $50 for whatever I want. I also got some great candy and the funniest card of the year! Thanks Steve for making it another great day!

After we ate the yummy dinner Steve made, we headed to my parents house. They decorated the house and had lots of presents waiting for me. I felt really spoiled. Not only presents, but I got to blow out my birthday donut. It's always been a tradition growing up that we got to choose our birthday treat, other than the traditional birthday cake. For some reason I always choose the hostess raspberry filled powdered donuts. It was delicious. I was so full by the end of the day, though! Thanks mom, dad, and family for a great day!

Man I'm old!

Girl's Night!

2010-06-19T20:14:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, I got to have four lovely ladies over for a sleepover! Emma, Abbey, Sarah, and Anna joined me for a night of fun...hopefully they think it was fun!

We made little personal pizzas and ended up eating all the ingredients separately, woops! I was too full to move after that, so I kinda fell asleep (how boring am I??) After waking up, we made cupcakes and had fun decorating them. The Warner clan sure has some cupcake decorating skills! We had fun painting toe nails, making yo-yo headbands, and just talking. It was nice to have some company to keep me from getting too bored! Thanks girls for coming over, and thank you Ched and Yolette for letting them come! We had a great time hanging out!

Sad Day

2010-06-16T15:31:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately my nursing interview did not go as well as I had planned. Quite disappointing, but I guess life is such. I put my heart and soul into all the prerequisites, I even worked in a hospital so that I could get experience, but I just have the feeling that maybe it isn't my time. All the other people who were interviewing at the same time seemed so overly prepared. One guy had letters of recommendations, a resume, and a portfolio about him all professionally bound. It is always an interesting experience when you get people who are competing against each other together. It 's really hard to not compare yourself and put yourself down. The interview was totally not anything I had expected. All UVU said was to review their mission, vision, and values, as well as prepare for it as any other business interview. Totally different! I had to take a test on APA citation. WOW! Fifteen minutes to find ten errors. Bombed that one...woops! Next were the individual interviews. That went okay, but I don't know...and the essay. Aww, the essay. NO FUN! It's hard to write an essay in thirty minutes.

I'm trying so hard to not cry, my heart is broken. Sounds silly, I know! I worked so hard to get this far, and I totally blew it. Frustrating, but I guess I tried my very best and that is all I can worry about. Thanks to everyone who kept me in their prayers. I guess there is always next semester...

Ode to Steve

2010-06-13T23:12:00.000-07:00

I am really loving having an apartment that has internet. I feel so spoiled. I can't wait for Steve's two week thingy to be over so that he can enjoy this awesome place with me. I got to go visit Steve today at Camp Williams for family day, and it was most definitely the highlight of my week! It's funny how seeing Steve instantly makes me happy again. I promise I'm not a downer, but it stinks having him gone! He gave me his camera that he has carried with him since AIT to take home, and I found some pretty awesome pictures that he took that were BLOG perfect!

Side note, do you find yourself taking pictures just so that you can put them on your blog??? I totally do!

This post is totally dedicated to Steve. I cannot let these pictures be passed by!

My cute medic!

Sorry Steve, I couldn't resist! Funny story, we had NO space whatsoever in our old place, so we thought that by going through my closet and getting rid of stuff that I never wore, that we would get rid of clutter. My little goober friend just happened to try on my shirt, and I have to admit that he looks heck of a lot better in it than I did! :)

I am SO grateful I got to marry Steve!

Count My Blessings...

2010-06-09T23:58:00.000-07:00

OH MY WORD!!!!!! Right now I just want to crawl in a corner and cry. I really do love my job, and I really am so lucky that I actually scored this job, but OH MY WORD! My unit was closed and I had the option to be on call. Being the good wife that I am, I was worried about bills and thought that if I worked, Steve and I could have a little extra spending money. I offered to do a one on one. I HATE one on ones. I get to sit with the crazies and go insane. I don't mean to sound so negative, but they are really the worst part about being a CNA. Tonight though, was exceptionally worse...I got pulled to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center 7th floor to do a one on one. I was actually excited to go to work...crazy? Heck yes! Steve being gone does weird things to me...anyway, I didn't think it could be that bad...until the girl in the elevator up to the floor blew my bubble. She was like, "Are you doing a 1:1?" I said, "Yes", she said, "That sucks, the one on ones on our floor are crazy." Gees, thanks! I wasn't about to get myself psyched yet, though. I walk into the room and the patient was a little 80 year old woman sleeping sitting up. She looked so innocent and harmless. I sit in the chair and she wakes up and tells me that she was Roman Catholic. I kept thinking that she couldn't be that bad. Oh goodness, I have never been asked so many questions in my life. For hours she kept repeatedly asking, "Why are you holding me here?" "Why are you going to kill me?" "Call my son" "You are such a liar, I don't believe you", and the cycle went on and on. To make matters worse, the charge nurse was not so nice. The nurse was worried that her patient was going to smack me, because she threatened to many times, and the charge nurse intervened and said,"We have a sitter here for a reason. This patient is not your responsibility, she's Estella's" I wanted to say EXCUSE ME! I'm no RN! I wish, but if I were, I would not be here babysitting crazies. It was the night from H-E-Double Hockey Sticks.

Now that I am done venting, a very nice nurse let me trade with another guy who was doing a 1:1, and she is here sleeping right now. Peace and quiet! YES!!! I'm sorry for those who think this is really rude, I just had to vent. I was fine until the charge nurse said her not-so-nice comment. One day when I am old enough to be considered the "charge nurse", I will make an effort to be fair and considerate. Gotta love hospitals, and this is when I keep repeating to myself that one day I will be the RN and that I am so blessed to have a job!

I need to blog...

2010-06-05T22:19:00.000-07:00

I have been so horrible at blogging lately. As soon as finals were over, Steve and I went to WA to visit his parents. It was such a great get-a-way and so nice to see his parents! As soon as we got home, we were on the search for a new apartment, and found a great one. We got so lucky! We finally moved this past week, and I am so happy! Our old place was invested with cockroaches...nasty! Everywhere I walked I was searching for bugs. It was so creepy! The funny thing is, I was the one who found them, Steve hardly ever came across them. LAME! We had to go through absolutely every belonging to ensure that there were no bugs inside. It took so long! My mom was soooooooooo nice to take time to help us. If it wasn't for her, I would still be moving. Thanks mom!

A whole afternoon and $30 later, all our clothing was washed. Moving is so expensive, but even more expensive when you have to throw out all your food and wash everything. It was no fun, but well worth it. I actually love being home now, it's a great feeling! I will not ever take being bug-free for granted again! As soon as our new place is cute and decorated, I will put up some pictures!

Speaking of pictures, my good friend Tamera took pictures of Steve and I as soon as he got home. She is a great photographer and even got Steve to smile! I was so proud of him. It was a really fun day, and I can't wait to take more when I can talk Steve into it and find a good "occasion" for picture taking. Haha! I just have to show off a few, I think they turned out so fun!

I'm Back!

2010-05-02T03:41:00.001-07:00

It has been about a month since I last updated my blog. Life has been so hectic, but great! Finals are over, Steve is home, and I am almost finished with shift two of three in a row. If only Monday would arrive a little sooner please...?!

Everyone knows that Steve was supposed to come home on April 13 at 8. Well...not! Here's the story: I had to work the night before Steve came home. Since Steve was coming home the next night, I thought the timing worked out beautiful. I was studying Monday afternoon before I had to head to work, and Steve texted me saying that he got an earlier flight for Tuesday afternoon. I was so happy to find out that he was coming home a few hours sooner. So...I head to work and do the normal routine. I do my eleven o'clock vitals and Michelle (an awesome nurse!) finds me and says that we are getting an admit. She says it's a two year old with RSV. I was thinking, "Oh great! This should be fun" (Sometimes I like being lazy, okay all the time. Woops!) I head to the room that she said the patient was going to and there is my cute husband with a hospital gown over his ACU's sitting on the bed! I was shocked! I didn't know if I should cry or what. I couldn't believe he was actually there--in UTAH! I have never been happier! Steve surprising me at work was the talk of the hospital and everyone kept asking me about it. I couldn't stop smiling!

I was so happy Steve surprised me at work, but the bad news was, I left our house key at my parents house. Woops! Poor Steve had to sleep in the car and it was pouring outside! Luckily I got off an hour early, but the rain still hadn't stopped. It got worse! We drove home, and broke through our kitchen window. I LOVE HAVING STEVE HOME!

It is so nice to be a "normal" couple again! I love doing everything with him, I even tried getting him to come to class with me. He didn't take me up on that offer! It's just so great to say we finally completed a tough year. I managed to pull through with my classes and not completely bomb my finals! I am so proud of Steve and I have to thank my family for putting up with me and letting me stay with them again.

Hopefully soon I will be able to blog a little more. My life is quite dull, so I'll have to find good things to write about, but hey, having the internet will be great! So all in all, we are doing great and loving life!

Life is good!

2010-04-02T13:56:00.000-07:00

Since Steve is coming home soon, I have been thinking a lot about when he enlisted and left for basic. I remember thinking that April was never going to come and that we were crazy for signing up for this! When he left, he had to report at a hotel in Salt Lake on August 31 at 1800. I remember I had school that day, and then when I got out we were on our way to leave. I was such a train wreck! Steve had to make some last minute stops to finish up his packing, and I just walked through the store like a lost puppy dog. I remember finally gaining my composure and then Steve gave me a book he made me. It was the sweetest thing I have ever received, and I will treasure it forever, but that darn book made me cry like none other!

As we got closer to Salt Lake, Steve realized he never bought me any mace. I insisted I was fine, but Steve insisted I needed it. We made a quick stop to Cabelas, and that quick stop took way longer than expected. We had 25 minutes before he had to report to the hotel (and the orders say DO NOT be late), so I was freaking out. Of course Steve wasn't, he kept saying, "what can they do, send me to basic??" Oh I love his sense of humor and calmness. We found the hotel at 1755 and ran inside the hotel to check in, just to find out we were at the wrong one! They had another one on the other side of town. By this time, Steve was getting nervous. We got so lost and had no idea where the hotel was. After driving around for a while, we found the hotel. By this time we were past the 1800 deadline, but at least we had made it! We were scared to walk in because we didn't know if they would have scary people standing there waiting for him, but to our luck, the electricity was out! The army had no way of knowing we weren't there on time since there was no way to check in! Needless to say, it was a very sad and much dreaded day, but the memories are priceless. Steve and I have learned so much and have really grown so close. It's true, absence makes the heart grow fonder (don't worry, I was SUPER fond of Steve before he left!)

I am so, so, so grateful we are so close to being a normal couple again! I can't wait! I can't believe how fast the time has gone by (thankfully)! Unfortunately I procrastinated all my hard classes, so anatomy and physiology kept me super busy, but I am so ready to have him home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Best Year!

2010-03-21T19:29:00.000-07:00

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY STEVE! I'm sorry I'm posting this a day late, but late is better than never! I can't believe it has been a year since our wedding. We've had our ups and downs, but have grown so close and I couldn't be more blessed! Thank you Steve for being the wonderful person that you are and for everything you do! I am SO lucky to be your wife and that we are sealed for all eternity! You are my very best friend and I look forward to when we can be together again and make so many more memories! We have such a bright future ahead and I am so excited! This has most definitely been the best year of my life, I LOVE YOU!

It's official!

2010-03-18T16:17:00.000-07:00

It's official, it's official! Steve found out the exact date and time when he gets to come HOME!!!!!!!!!!!! Aww, it'll be so wonderful to have my love back! I just pray that deployment doesn't happen for a long time, or maybe...never. If only....well, I am proud to officially announce that my love is coming home on April 13 at 8 PM! Yay!

P.S. I love you

2010-03-05T15:23:00.000-08:00

Haha! Steve and I really like going to Maggie Moo's and when he got to come home for Christmas, we took this picture. I thought it was pretty funny...only five weeks and five days to go!

Weekends are my favorite!

2010-02-28T12:05:00.000-08:00

For some reason it takes me a while to know what to first start saying when I make a post. I guess this one will be about how much I love Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (if I'm not working of course!) Relaxing is probably both mine and Steve's most favorite word!

On Friday I went to the craft store and watched a demo on the Cricut on how to cut using vinyl. It was so much fun! I always see how people have boards with their name on it and a saying or something, so I really wanted to make one. Here is how it turned out!

I'd have to say that it turned out pretty good! I was very proud, and I owe my mom a huge thanks for helping me. It isn't easy holding a two foot long sheet of vinyl and getting it to not stick to itself!

Saturday....what a funny day! It first started out when my sister went to the salon to get her hair done. They had a promotion on spray tanning for only $5. If you know Chantra, she is super white and inherited the lucky genes to burn. Needless to say, she really wants to be tan. She tried out the spray tanning and no offense, she looked like Pocahontas. She texted me and said, "I went spray tanning and you are never going to let me forget this one." The next thing I know, she walks in the door and I burst out laughing. Oh man...

Thank goodness it was only spray tanning, the shower fixed her problem. Then...later Saturday night, Steve sent me a picture text and it was labeled "Hecho en Mexico baby", being half Mexican you'd think I knew how to speak the language, but nope! The picture is SO FUNNY, though! It is definitely going on our fridge! I am so proud of Steve for smiling!

To end, this weekend was really nice! I got a few good laughs, and like I always say, absolutely NO homework done! Only six more Saturday's until Steve and I can be together again! I love you Steve, and thanks for the flowers! You are the BEST!

If only...

2010-02-19T15:31:00.000-08:00

Has anyone ever had those days where you wish you could speed up time? I'm sure everyone has, but today has especially been one of those days. I decided that since I have been such a slacker all week and that I need a REALLY good grade in my physiology class, that I should probably start studying. Needless to say, after like four hours of studying, my brain is done and I am wishing so bad that school could just end all ready. The good thing is though, this is my last class before I can apply for nursing school! Oh if only it was summertime! Aww, the joys of no homework and having Steve home! At least I have so much to look forward to in the next two months (seven weeks and four days!) Well, here are pictures of me and Steve, I can't wait to go back and see him for our anniversary! Hopefully time flies!

What a goober!

2010-02-13T19:40:00.000-08:00

My cute husband and his friend Josh took this picture for me and his wife, Kirsten. I guess when you finally get freedom from all the mean sergeants, you have to find something fun to do! Nice picture guys! I think Steve and I are going to get them...here we come family pictures!

What a nice surprise!

2010-02-12T16:10:00.000-08:00

This week has been quite the week! I must have gotten some nasty bug because I had a 102 fever for three days straight and a horrible sore throat. Perfect timing right? Just the time when I have like 50 million papers to write for school...So now that I am feeling better, I took the day off from studying and learned how to blog! Maybe not the smartest thing to do, but the day was so nice. This stuff is sure addicting, but soon enough I will be a pro and it'll make all the time I put into figuring out how things work totally worth it.

I just wanted to say how grateful I am for everything! I have the best husband on the planet! My family has kept me company through such a lonely time, and I just have to say again that I am so grateful for Steve! He means the whole entire world to me! This morning I woke up to a knocking on the door, and to my surprise, it was a very cute bouquet of flowers-with gerber daisies! Man he is good! Steve, if you're reading this, I am SO sorry you haven't gotten anything yet! I feel bad that your present will be late, but I hope you like it! One day I will have a gift ready on time, I am early to everything, but late when it comes to sending cards and important stuff like that. Well to end, I hope everyone has a great day!

Technically my first post ever!

2010-02-07T04:10:00.000-08:00

So....Steve and I have been married for almost eleven months (and might I add, the best eleven months of my life!) Maybe we are little late getting started on this whole "blogging" thing, but hey, I guess late is better than never, right?! Steve is not a fan of blogging, but I thought it would be fun to do working nights and all. I was contemplating starting one, but wasn't quite sure. Then the next thing I know, I get a text from Steve saying, "Hey, log on to blogspot.com". To my surprise, he started a blog and wrote a very cute first post! I have the best husband ever! Even though we have had to be apart for so long, it is such a comforting feeling to know that I am sealed to my best friend for ever and ever! So, to end my first post, I love you Steve and thank you!

2010-02-06T20:47:00.000-08:00

I am the coolest, most amazing person! Ever! not only that, I am the most beautiful and most wonderful wife, too! My name is Monkey and I am perfect!